


Her Son

by childofmischief



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Character Study?, F/M, Slight Angst in places, sally loves her son
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-12
Updated: 2017-06-12
Packaged: 2018-11-13 01:44:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11174424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/childofmischief/pseuds/childofmischief
Summary: Sally Jackson had always been scared for and proud of her son.She loves him more than anything in this world.





	Her Son

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Son of a Son of a Sailor](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2161788) by [WakeUpDreaming](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WakeUpDreaming/pseuds/WakeUpDreaming). 



Sally Jackson met Poseidon in 1993, a young fisherman, and she a young waitress. The spent a summer together, Sally being able to see through the mist. Eventually, Percy was conceived.  
~  
“I have to tell you something.” She said one day, giddy, smiling brightly. Poseidon sauntered over, eyes flicking down to where she had a hand on her stomach. 

“What is it, Sally?” He asked sweetly, coming behind her and hugging her, swaying gently from side to side like the waves they spent quite a lot of time at.

“Well…” She giggled. “I’m pregnant!”

Poseidon’s face fell. Even though he was behind her, she could tell. “What’s wrong, honey?” She asked, pulling out of his arms to face him. She placed her arms on his, Poseidon looking down at them as though they were the most delicate thing in the world.

“I know you can see through it…” He started, taking a deep breath. “So I might as well tell you.” He looked her in the eye, his own sea green ones shining. “I’m Poseidon. God of the sea.”

They stood in silence for a moment, Sally taking what he had just said in. A Greek God? And for some reason, it made sense? Her whole life, she had seen some strange things, things that came out straight of the myths she liked so much. 

“Poseidon?” She repeated. “That’s just...wow.”  
~  
He left soon after Perseus was born, named after one of the few Greek heroes who had a happy ending, even if he was the son of Zeus. She had to admit, she was scared for her son, the only family she had. His life would be dangerous, it could get him killed in painful, nasty ways. And she would do whatever she could to keep him safe.

The first time she realized he would be a handful was when he was only in preschool. It was naptime, and somehow a snake had gotten into his sleeping bag. While the teachers were freaking out about it, Percy, a tiny three year old, strangled it to death.

And Sally knew, from this point on Percy would be quite the handful of a child.

Sally Jackson married Gabe Ugliano when Percy was five years old, knowing that his gross, shockingly mortal scent would mask Percy’s heavy godly one.  
~  
Sally pulled up alongside Percy’s elementary school, the first of many. The young boy saw her, and ran up to her car, smiling brightly with his toothy smile, the front tooth missing. Sally climbed out of her car, meeting the boy halfway. 

“Hi, mommy!” He exclaimed, hugging her as she got in front of him, eye level. He noticed the sad look on her face, and tilted his head. “What’s wrong?” He asked.

Sally chuckled, holding her son at arm’s length, a determined look in his sea green eyes, so much like his father. “I’m marrying Gabe, honey.”

“But he smells!” Percy protested, then his eyes drifted down to the poorly concealed bruise on his mother’s arm. “And he hurts you.” He bit his lip, then looked his mother back in the eye. “You can’t marry someone who hurts you.”  
~  
Sally had known this wasn’t going to be easy, but actually hearing Percy say the things she had been thinking about made it harder. Even at five, he was smart. He knew the truth. He knew things a five year old shouldn’t have to worry about. And that made her even more scared for him.

She knew her son had ADHD and dyslexia before he was ever diagnosed. Even so, the diagnosis of both had been hard. Maybe if Gabe hadn’t talked about how useless Percy was to them now, it wouldn’t have been so bad. But Sally knew her son was resilient. 

For the next few years, Percy jumped from school to school, but that was okay, because they had each other. But at some point, there was no more public school that would take him, and she pulled together the money to send him to boarding school, but even then he jumped from place to place.

And then her worst fear happened. It was time. She could no longer hold her little boy’s hand. He had to grow up, take on the responsibility of a prophecy that could get him killed. And then, more than ever, she was terrified for her son. 

She remembers the conversation she had with Grover before they had to take Percy to Camp Half-Blood.  
~  
It was late, Gabe having already passed out drunk in their bed upstairs. She sent Percy to Yancy Academy for a reason, and now she could actually meet the boy, (goat?), that had been protecting her son.

“Mrs. Jackson?” Grover asked, Sally turning, pulling her jacket closer and crossing her arms. 

“Hello, Grover, was it?” Sally greeted, glancing around to make sure no one would hear this conversation. “You want to talk about Percy, right. How is he?” Sally had to cut herself off, stop asking questions.

“He’s doing alright.” Grover nervously chewed on a soda can. “He’s not having a great time in English.”

Sally nodded, chuckling. “He never does.”

“I think he needs to go to Camp this summer.” Grover said. Sally nodded, taking deep breath.  
~  
She had hoped it wouldn’t be as dramatic as it was, but Percy’s life always had a flair for the dramatic, didn’t it? 

But in the end, he made her proud. He saved her, and most of all, he survived. And now the secret was out, and Gabe was gone. The prophecy was almost forgotten by Sally because she had everything she wanted. She had her son, alive and well. She had the money to take college classes, and she and her son were as far as they could ever get from Gabe.

But of course, these things, especially with her son, couldn’t last in peace forever. The next few years seemed to fly by, and Sally watched contently as her son grew, as he survived and thrived, and as he fell in love with a girl who she knows is the only reason he lived so long. 

But as all things go, the final battle came, the battle that would almost definitely end in Percy’s death. She wasn’t ready for that, not now, not ever.  
~  
Sally saw the news, jumping up, and rushing to grab the keys, Paul startling.

“Sally, what is it?”

“Percy.” She breathed. “It’s starting.” 

Paul nodded wordlessly, following his wife out the door and to the car, towards the Empire State Building. As they got closer, Paul started to get drowsier, quicker than Sally. But she began to feel it too, and pulled them over, eventually passing out with Paul.  
~  
The end of the war was a relief. For the first time in a long time, Sally didn’t feel she had to worry about her son so much. He was safe now, safe with her, in her arms. She never wanted her son to be a soldier, to have to know what it was like to fight in a war, to know that maybe someday he wouldn’t return, to know that his friends could die.

But for now, it was fine. Sally had her son.  
~  
Percy walked through the door of the apartment, a weight lifted off his shoulders. They had won. He was going to live. But at the same time, he felt heavy. There had been so many deaths, all deaths on his behalf. He never wanted anyone else to die for him.

“I’m home!” He announced, catching scent of his mother’s cookies. He rushed to the kitchen to see his mother baking, Paul sitting at the counter like he used to.

“Percy!” Sally rushed to hug her son, holding him close. “I’m so glad to see you! Tell me everything.”  
~  
But Sally Jackson’s son was Perseus Jackson, who wasn’t allowed a quiet moment in his life. So soon after the Second Titan War was over, her son was taken by none other than Hera. He was missing for eight months.  
~  
Sally picked up the phone, hearing Annabeth mutter than sniffle on the line. She knew demigods shouldn’t use phones, so it must've been bad for Annabeth to call her.

“Annabeth, dear, what’s wrong?” She asked, concerned. Annabeth took a deep breath, releasing it slowly.

“Uh, it’s-it’s Percy.” She paused. “He’s missing.”

Sally was silent, her whole world imploding. Missing? How could he just be missing? He was at Camp, the one place in the world she knew he would always be safe! 

She broke the silence and talked with Annabeth a little longer, then hung up holding her head in her hands. Paul found her like this and she cried on him, desperately clutching his shirt.  
~  
She and Annabeth spent a lot of time together in those months, baking, talking, crying. It was as though Annabeth was her own.

The voicemail was the best thing that ever happened to Sally. It was confirmation. Yes, her son was alive. Not long after that, Annabeth turned up on her doorstep, determination in her eyes. She would stop at nothing to find Percy Jackson. 

And just like that, another war began, and Sally feared for her son’s life as he crossed into the ancient lands. 

And then he fell into Tartarus. 

And she had never been more worried in her life. She knew there was a chance he would never make it out, that she had lost her only son, and her daughter. (Yes, Annabeth was her daughter.) But she knew her son was a Jackson.

He made it out, and he won the war. And the next time she saw him was with Annabeth under his arm.  
~  
A knock came at the door, and Sally went to open it. It was Percy and Annabeth, looking a little worn, yes, but alive and well. 

She let out an unintelligible squeal and embraced her children. 

Her son was a handful, but she knew he’d be okay. They still had a lot of work to do, and that work may never end, but she loved him to death. 

Sally Jackson and her son were the strongest people anyone had ever met.


End file.
